Rick Scott signs “Chloe’s Law” to make roads safer for drivers

Gov. Rick Scott signed into law HB-7061, the bill dubbed “Chloe’s Law,” last week, which requires the Florida Department of Transportation to install guardrails along state roads where deaths have occurred near bodies of water.

The law was co-sponsored by Sen. Darren Soto, an Orlando Democrat, in response to the death last year of 21-year-old UCF student Chloe Arenas last year. She died after losing control of her vehicle and plunging off State Road 408 into a retention pond, where she drowned.

Her death was “one of many expected annually from vehicle-related drownings,” according to a press release from the Florida Senate. The press release states Florida is number one in the nation for this, a statistic it calls alarming.

In the press release, Soto is quoted as thanking those who helped out with the law.

“I would like to thank all of our UCF students including Clarissa Lindsey and Student Government Legislative Affairs Coordinator Tyler Yeargain for their passionate advocacy leading to the passage of Chloe’s Law,” he said.

Rep. Rene Plasencia, an Orlando Republican, co-sponsored the bill and said in the press release that the law was a step forward for vehicle safety. He praised the bipartisan nature of “Chloe’s Law’s” passing.

“No parent should ever have to bury their child,” he said. “With Chloe’s Law’s passage, we can begin to take steps necessary to ensure Florida has the safest roadways. It was an honor to work with both chambers in a bi-partisan effort to ensure this law’s passage.”